I’ve used some of your suggestions on class participation, but this year I have several fifth-graders who try to monopolize class discussions and often ask questions that are off-topic or beyond the scope of the lesson. Sometimes, I don’t know the answer to their questions. I hate to squelch their enthusiasm for science, but I want to give everyone a chance to participate.
—Amanda, Winston–Salem, North Carolina
We’ve all a class in which no student wants to be the first to participate, and there are many strategies to encourage participation (see the blog entry Encouraging Class Participation). But your situation is a little different. I can still see some of my “ooh-ooh” students (the sound they made as they waved their hands frantically in the air). Their enthusiasm should be celebrated, but a few overeager students shouldn’t discourage the others.
Talk to these students privately and individually. “I appreciate your enthusiasm and knowledge. But as the teacher, I have to give everyone has a chance to participate. So even if I don’t call on you, I still value your ideas and questions. But I need to listen to the others in the class, too.” A wink or slight nod in their direction will acknowledge their waving hands as you call on other students. But you’ll also have to make it very clear that any behavior or language belittling other students is unacceptable.
Sometimes students ask questions or offer comments only tangentially related to the topic (or perhaps not at all). These might be teachable moments worth pursuing. If not, use a section of a bulletin board or wall space as a “parking lot.” Ask the student to write the question on a sticky note or index card and add it to the parking lot to be addressed at a later time. Periodically, revisit the parking lot to look at the topics and respond to them. If the question relates to a topic later in the lesson or unit, add it to the parking lot and then remove it when it is addressed, thanking the student for asking the question earlier.

Keep using strategies such as wait time or calling on students randomly. Quiet responses such as a thumbs-up or holding up a paper or small white board with an answer will allow you to get feedback from everyone. Some teachers give students a limited number of “tokens” to use while participating in whole-class discussions. The tokens can be used to respond to questions, add to a discussion, ask questions, or elaborate on another student’s response. If students use all of their tokens, they must wait until the others have used theirs before participating again. The ooh-oohs will have to judge when and how to use their tokens.
If a student asks a question and you don’t know the answer, the worst thing you can do is make up answer. It’s OK for a teacher to say, “That’s an interesting question, but I’m not sure how to answer it. What do you think? Does anyone else have an idea?” If the question is related to the lesson, you could model how you would go about finding information. If it’s not related, add it to the parking lot and go on with the lesson. If the student has some extra time, encourage him or her to find information and share with the class.
How do these students relate to others in cooperative learning activities? Do they take over and try to do everything themselves? Are their teammates content to stand back and watch them? Be sure to assign roles to the members of the team and identify the official spokesperson for the group. Rotate the roles so that all students eventually have the opportunity to perform each one. Monitor the teams as they work. You may need to intervene to make sure students are participating in their assigned roles.
I once did some action research on cooperative learning in which I put the ooh-oohs in the same group for an activity. It was interesting to observe the group dynamics when no one wanted to relinquish the role of team leader. We then discussed leadership, teamwork, and what it was like to have someone try to take over your job. It was also interesting to observe the other teams and note the leaders who emerged when they had the chance.
Photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/rongyos/2686415336/